


Sins of the Father

by rage_cupcakes



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Dadcore, Growing Up, M/M, Original Character(s), parenting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-18
Updated: 2018-08-18
Packaged: 2019-06-29 04:15:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15721770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rage_cupcakes/pseuds/rage_cupcakes
Summary: Prompto and Noctis try to raise a son together. They explore all the things they disliked about their childhoods, and try to avoid those problems with their own kid, but come up with new mistakes instead. Along the way, the discover that it truly does take a village.





	Sins of the Father

Iris gave a final push, crying out as she did, and there he was. Noctis only got a quick glimpse before the doctor swooped in and brought him to Iris’ chest. Noctis found scissors being pressed into his hand, and mechanically cut the umbilical cord. He glanced at Prompto; his camera hanging limply around his neck, forgotten. He looked like he had been struck by Ramuh, just standing there with a shocked expression on his face. Noct felt a little relieved; he didn’t want to remember this moment as gore and shock. He wanted all the memories of it to be soft and clean and full of love.

A nurse has the baby now, getting him cleaned up and doing some tests. Iris, looking worn out, looked up at Noctis, her eyes heavily lidded. “What are you going to name him?”

Noct looked at Prompto, who nodded. “We want to call him Sol.” Iris smiled.

The doctor made a small coughing noise at Noctis’ elbow. “Typically,” she said, “this is where we’d attempt the first breastfeeding.” She hesitated. “In your case...”

Ignis spoke up from the corner of the room. “We have arrangements for that. If you don’t mind, we can leave these three and take care of it.” The doctor nodded, and lifted the baby away from Iris. They left the room, Prompto’s eyes following Sol all the way out the door.

Iris looked ready to pass out. Noctis wiped her brow, and planted a kiss on it, sending some of his magic to her. “You were amazing. Thank you.”

She smiled up at him. “It was my honour, Noct.” She looked like she was going to say something else, but drifted off to sleep.

Prompto came up behind him, wrapping his arms around Noct’s waist. “So.” he said. “We’re dads.”

“Guess so.”

“Are you sure we can do this?” Noctis turned to face him, seeing the doubt and fear in Prompto’s eyes. He kissed him, gently.

“We have a whole kingdom. And Ignis. We’ll be fine.” Prom gave a weak smile, but the anxiety didn’t really leave his face.

* * *

It was a little bit before they brought Sol back into the room, sleeping happily in Ignis’ arms. “I’m sorry for the delay,” he said, “it was a little... challenging to get past Gladio.” Noct chuckled. _I’ll bet._ Gladio hadn’t been thrilled when he was told he’d be stationed at the door, on guard duty, but he had relented when Ignis pointed out that he may not want to see his sister in such an “ah, _intimate_ setting”.

Ignis passed Sol to Noct, carefully laying him in his arms, trying not to wake him. _This is my kid._ Noct’s heart tugged as he looked at Sol’s face, trying to take every detail in. The chubby cheeks, the shock of black hair, the carefree expression. It killed him to think of the weight of a kingdom slowly pressing down on that innocent face. _It’ll be okay. I’ll give him more than I had._ A thousand camera clicks broke into his thoughts. He looked up at Prompto, smiling. “Isn’t it easier to just take a video, at that point?” The only answer he got was a thousand more clicks. It was hard to be annoyed; he knew he’d cherish the photos. “Put the camera down. Come hold your son.”

Prompto’s expression reached full-on panic. “I... N-now? You seem to have it under control. M-maybe later...” he gasped out, waving his hands in front of him.

“Babe, it’s fine. Just hand me the camera, and hold him. You’re gonna be great.”

Prompto nervously handed the camera off to Ignis, and reluctantly held out his arms. Noct passed Sol over to Prompto, who took him gently, cautiously, cradling him as if he were made of glass. Noctis thought for a moment about reassuring him, but... _He’s doing fine. He’s doing great._ Ignis handed Noct the camera, and he brought it to his eye in time to get a shot of Prompto caressing Sol’s cheek with a finger. Prompto’s face fought between sheer joy and pride and an awful anxiety. Noctis recognised that look. That was Prompto’s _this-is-so-great-how-am-I-going-to-ruin-it_ look. He snapped a few more pictures; Prompto kissing the baby’s forehead, Prompto cradling and smiling at the baby, Sol waking up and crying and Prompto looking ready to die.

“Perhaps you should soothe him, Prompto.” Ignis suggested, as gently as Ignis can. Prompto, looking for all the world like someone asked to defuse a bomb, started slowly rocking Sol in his arms, and started humming. Noctis recognised the tune. _I want to ride my chocobo all day..._

“Really? Indoctrinating him a bit young, aren’t we?” he laughed, snapping some pictures.

“It was the first song that popped into my head!” Prompto said, defensively, still rocking Sol, whose cries were at least quieting now.

“ _That_ I’ll believe.” Noctis replied, still chuckling.

“He has your eyes, you know.” Prompto said, smiling at Noctis. Noct circled around, peering over Prompto’s shoulder. Sure enough, Sol stared up at him, eyes a deep blue. He smiled, and took a picture.

“Oh, come on, man.” Prompto sighed. “If we’re going to be taking close-up shots, let me do it. Not that you’re not _perfectly fine_ at it, but... and I say this as someone who loves you...”

“I know, I know, we’re gonna wish you took them instead.” Noct grumbled, holding his arms out for Sol.

* * *

The first few weeks were... a lot. Sleep was harder to come by, and royal duties didn’t just stop because a new prince was born. Noctis hated leaving Sol, and was not operating at his best, but... His people needed their King. Ignis ran interference as much as he could, and Prompto... well, Prompto still wasn’t past his anxieties and doubts, but he was getting better about it.

“This is definitely your kid, Noct”, Prompto said, as Noctis returned from another meeting. “All he does is cry, sleep, and eat.”

“And poop.” Noctis reminded him. Neither of them could believe the first diaper they changed. Nothing in those parenting books that Ignis had pressed on them had prepared them for that. In fairness, Noctis didn’t exactly read _all_ of them _all_ the way through, but Prompto had devoured every piece of information he could find, and he seemed surprised, too. So Noctis felt pretty confidently that it wasn’t covered. “You know, we _could_ always have one of the staff take care of the diaper changes...”

Prompto looked horrified. “No! It’s bad enough we have a wet nurse. We can’t let him be raised by strangers, Noct.”

Noctis threw up his hands. “Okay, okay, we can keep doing it. Besides, I’ve been putting up with your shit for years, may as well start practicing putting up with his.”

Prompto groaned. “That was awful.”

“I know, I know,” Noctis laughed. “But that’s why I need to practice! Can’t be a dad with no puns.”

* * *

It wasn’t until a month later, after the wet nurse had stopped coming by and the bottles of formula had come out, that Iris dropped by to visit. Ignis was a near-constant presence, running an infant-care training from their living space. Gladio, as Noctis’ shield, was always nearby _anyways_ , but since Sol was born, Prompto had started joking that Sol had three dads. But Iris was conspicuously absent. Noctis had asked about her with Gladio a few times, but he waved him off and told him to just give her some space. From what, Noctis hadn’t asked.

She seemed... smaller. Not than she was while pregnant, because, well... duh. But smaller than she had before. It wasn’t her size, Noct decided, but her stature. Like she had... collapsed in on herself, or something. But she was smiling, though it felt like it was more effort for her than her usual irrepressible, bubbly disposition.

“There’s my- the sweet boy,” she cooed. Sol was laying on his stomach on a blanket on the floor, dressed in a chocobo onesie, looking entirely displeased about the situation. He _hated_ tummy time. As Prompto had been all-too-quick to point out, he seemed to have inherited his father’s laziness. Prompto had been hesitant for the longest time. He couldn’t stand to hear Sol cry, or to make him unhappy in any way. It took days of Ignis badgering him about it for him to grudgingly accept that tummy time had to happen, one way or another.

Iris sat down by Sol, making a chocobo plushie dance in front of him. He stared at it, and stared at her, and then back at the toy, clearly not sure what to make of this development. The dancing faltered, and Iris looked unsure.

“Do you want to hold him?” Prompto asked, gently.

“N-no, that’s okay, he seems comfortable where he is.” Iris replied, shakily.

Noct snorted. “He hates tummy time. Go on, pick him up, it’s fine.”

Iris hesitantly slid her arms under Sol’s armpits, hoisting him into the air like a sack of potatoes, held at arms-length from her. Sol just stared at his dads, clearly confused by this turn of events.

Prompto walked over, guiding her to cradle Sol. “It’s okay, it took me a while to get used to it, too.” he said, gently. “Just relax, it’s okay.”

Iris looked terrified and startled, looking at Prom as if he were going to hurt her. She slowly lowered her gaze to look at Sol, and she looked... sad? She hummed a little, rocking him back and forth, and he burbled happily. She looked away, and handed him to Prompto. “I’m sorry, I can’t stay long. If you’ll excuse me, your highnesses.”

Noct blocked her on the way out. “It’s ‘Noctis and Prompto’ to you. You know that.” he said, concerned. “Are you... alright?” She bit her lip, and nodded. Noctis, not quite believing her, stepped aside and let her leave.

“What was that about?” Prompto just shrugged, and Sol started fussing, clearly working himself up for another cry.

* * *

Iris continued to avoid Noctis and Prompto, coming up with excuses to avoid visiting Sol, for another month. It was Ignis who finally knocked on her door. “May I come in? We need to discuss something.”

Iris silently stood back to let him in. He stood in her entryway, his hands behind his back, all business. She said nothing, not meeting his gaze.

“You know why I’m here.” he said. “You’ve been avoiding the kings and the prince.”

“I haven’t, I’ve just been–” she started.

“You have seen them once since the birth of their child. They’re your friends, Iris.” She blushed, and remained silent, staring at the floor. “If there’s some sort of problem, I’d like to try and resolve it. They’re worried, you know.”

Iris bit her lip. “There’s no problem.”

Ignis sunk lower, trying to catch her eyes, and she steadfastly refused to meet his. “Iris, if you need to talk about something, I’m here to help. It’s my duty to aid in resolving the kings’ problems, and right now that means helping to resolve _your_ problems, so they don’t keep worrying about it, and can run the country and raise their son.” Iris flinched at the last couple of words. “Ah. So you’re having trouble with their son.”

“Not…” she sighed. “Fine, yes. I know he’s not my son,” she admitted, “and I know I volunteered to carry him for the kings.”

“Iris”, Ignis said softly. “I was under the impression you volunteered to carry him for _your friends_.”

She nodded. “It was cool to think that I was carrying the future king, but… It was cooler to think that I was carrying my friends’ son.” she agreed. “But then he was born. And Ignis, he’s _so beautiful_. I didn’t think I’d love him this much. I didn’t think I _could_ love him this much.”

“So you avoid them because you can‘t see someone else ‘your’ child.” Ignis guessed.

Iris laughed, a short, bitter, bark of a laugh. “Ha, no, Ignis. I used to have a thing for Noctis, remember? I’m used to dealing with wanting something I can’t have. It’s…” she hesitated, fixing her resolve before continuing, “I can’t help but feel like I’m betraying my friends every time I see them with him. Because all I can think is _that’s my baby_ , and that’s not fair to them. And it makes me feel like an awful friend. It’s an honor and a privilege to be able to carry their baby, I can’t… it’s not right to spend every moment with the three of them thinking about how he’s really mine, not theirs.”

Ignis nodded. “You can’t stand the guilt.” Iris looked away again, nodding.

“That, I can help with.”

**Author's Note:**

> My husband and I have been going baby crazy, and I saw [this wonderful headcanon](https://promptis-imagines.tumblr.com/post/169214968995/could-you-guys-write-an-imagine-on-noctis-and) on Tumblr, and honestly, I couldn't stop thinking about what two dads raising a kid would be like, but now all I can think about is Perpetual Children Noctis and Prompto trying to raise a kid, under the watchful eye of their Exasperated Real Adult Friend Ignis. This fic is the result. Also, where does one acquire an Exasperated Real Adult Friend, I'm definitely gonna need one of those.
> 
> Some notes:
> 
> * This is vaguely canon-compliant, except for the obvious Noct-didn't-die thing. He was still engaged to Luna, she still died, their whole roadtrip still happened... it's just at the end, rather than Noct dying, he married Prompto, because _that's the ending we all deserved_.  
>  * Sol is named for Lunafreya. I was trying to find a male name that was obviously lunar-based, as a tribute, but opted to go with the sun instead, as it offered more canon-sounding male names.  
> * Prompto is me, all anxiety that you will break this tiny human.  
> * Noctis is also me, all laziness and eye rolls and awful puns.  
> * Look they're both children at heart but they're trying their best and love their kid and what more can you ask for.  
> * We're going to be jumping through time, so this is the last infant chapter, enjoy Sol-with-no-agency while you've got him.


End file.
